Slade Baker fell into water while sledding in small Wisconsin town

January 06, 2010|By Jeff Long, Tribune reporter

Romayne Larson called out to 8-year-old Slade Baker from a bridge as the boy drifted by in the frigid Fox River in Burlington, Wis., but he just flailed his arms without making any progress toward the shore.

"He never called out, never made a sound," said Larson, 77, who rushed from her nearby home after Slade fell into the river while sledding Monday afternoon. "I think the shock of the cold was just too much for him."

Divers pulled the boy's body from the river about 10 a.m. Tuesday after searching the waterway for hours following the accident about 3:45 p.m. Monday.

The close-knit town of about 10,000 was left reeling from the child's death, a neighbor and family friend said.

"The whole neighborhood is devastated," said Glenn Jante, 79, who has lived across the street from the boy's grandfather for 20 years. "Everyone knew the little boys -- redheads."

The grandfather, William Baker, had picked up Slade and his brother, 7, from school Monday afternoon and dropped them at their home on Main Street near a park that adjoins the river, Jante said.

Slade had sledded down a small hill and was walking near the river when he fell in, said Lt. Bob Zortman, co-chairman of the Racine County dive team.

Larson's husband dialed 911 as she made for the river, Larson said Tuesday afternoon. She said ice from the river had accumulated on the shores, and the boy might not have realized he was past the river's edge when the ice he was walking on gave way.